G06 Subterranian

Issues and examples to consider:

Large-scale structures:

Mines
Aquifers
Canalisation/sewerage systems
Systems under the ground but also under the sea
Cables

For a decent consideration of architectural issues, not including the nonhuman aspects properly, see this student work:

Wright, Aimee. ‘Underground Architecture: Connections Between Ground-Level Public Space and Below-Ground Buildings’. Master Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2012.

From Subsurface Habitats

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Key Types

By type of medium:

subterranean
underwater
under the seabed

By time/period of habitation:

opportunistic/occasional
temporary
long-term
permanent

By mode of production:

naturally formed: caves, underground rivers
artificially constructed: excavated, covered

Nonhuman

On subterranean biology, see:

Mammola, Stefano, Isabel R. Amorim, Maria E. Bichuette, Paulo A. V. Borges, Naowarat Cheeptham, Steven J. B. Cooper, David C. Culver, et al. “Fundamental Research Questions in Subterranean Biology.” Biological Reviews 95, no. 6 (2020): 1855–72. https://doi.org/10/gkkv26.

worms
bacteria
fungi
roots of plants
small mammals

In the water there is much more abundance as more species and biomass exist in the water:

fish
plants
other marine and riverine life
plankton
large mammals

Human

Subsurface Engineering

Issues:

costs
effort and resources required
available technologies and methods including the use of machinery and robotics

Subsurface:

Using earth and water as building materials (possible extension of the concept):

earth architecture
ice and snow as building materials

References

An overview of human cultural relationships with the underground world including it formation and implications for nonhuman lives:

Macfarlane, Robert. Underland: A Deep Time Journey. New York: W. W. Norton, 2019.

Example of current issues in urban subterranean spaces:

Garrett, Bradley, Maria de Lourdes Melo Zurita, and Kurt Iveson. ‘Boring Cities: The Privatisation of Subterranea’. City 24, no. 1–2 (2020): 276–85. https://doi.org/10/gpr4gd.

On regulatory issues:

Goldhill, Simon, and Georgie Fitzgibbon. ‘Climate Policy, Regulation and Governance: Introduction’. Journal of the British Academy 9s10 (2021): 1–5. https://doi.org/10/gpr4hm.

Psychology (see the Biosphere 2 types of experiments) Social and political problems